Brian Phelps, CEO of Montrue Technologies

Doctors today face increasing regulatory documentation requirements that involve entering every lab test and prescription into a computer, a cumbersome process that often means leaving the patient alone. Ashland startup Montrue Technologies has created an iPad-based documentation tracking system for emergency room doctors. The goal, says CEO Brian Phelps, is to “get technology out of the way” so medical staff can focus on “the heart of the matter” — the doctor-patient relationship. Called Sparrow EDIS, the system features patient tracking, order entry, discharge planning and prescribing — all accessible via iPad from the patient’s bedside.

Designed to meet the needs of doctors and nurses, the system also offers hospital executives a return on investment by capturing charges associated with different tests and procedures. Sparrow EDIS should boost those charges by $40 per patient, the bulk of which comes from improved “tap documentation” of IV start and stop times, Phelps says. Sparrow should also qualify for incentives under the federal HITECH Act, which gives hospitals money for implementing electronic records. The system is part of a pilot at Ashland Community Hospital, and Montrue is negotiating with other “visionary customers,” Phelps says. “We just need to seal the deal with actual contracts.”

COMPANY: Montrue Technologies

PRODUCT: iPad-based emergency room information system

CEO: Brian Phelps

HEADQUARTERS: Ashland

LAUNCHED: 2010

AT A GLANCE: Three full-time employees, several independent contractors. Landed $200,000 from the Willamette Angel Conference in 2011, $160,000 from a 2012 Southern Oregon Angel Investment prize and $22,000 in private investment.

BACKSTORY: “The feeling you get when you use our application is one of lightness and simplicity that is almost deceptive. That’s what Sparrow conveys. ‘Montrue’ is a French word meaning ‘that upon which something is mounted.’ It’s also a contraction of the French words for mountain and street. Our headquarters are on Mountain Avenue.”

BY JASON KAPLAN

Photographer Jason Kaplan takes a look at Murray's Pharmacy in Heppner. The family owned business is run by John and Ann Murray, who were featured in our July/August cover story: 10 Innovators in Rural Health Care.

BY AMY MILSHTEIN | PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN

BY JACOB PALMER

Most of the food Americans consume is trucked in from hundreds of miles away. Eric Wilson, co-founder and CEO of Gro-volution, wants to change that. So this past spring, the Air Force veteran and former greenhouse manager started work on an alternative farming system he claims is more efficient than conventional agriculture, and also shortens the distance between the consumer and the farm.

BY JASON E. KAPLAN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

As part of our green workplaces story, Oregon Business checked out a community service project undertaken by Portland Youth Builders, a nonprofit alternative high school. In partnership with Whole Foods, PYB built garden boxes for a Home Forward housing site. Home Forward is a government agency that provides housing for low income residents and people with disabilities.

BY LINDA BAKER

Market of Choice is on a tear. In 2012 the 35-year-old Eugene-based grocery chain opened a central kitchen/distribution center in its hometown. The market opened its third Portland store in the Cedar Mill neighborhood this year; another outpost in Bend broke ground in March. A fourth Portland location is slated for the inner southeast “LOCA” development, a mixed-use project featuring condos and retail. Revenues in 2014 were $175 million, a double-digit increase over 2013. CEO Rick Wright discusses growth, market trends and how he keeps new “foodie” grocery clerks happy.

BY STUART WATSON

BY JON SHADEL

The technology industry is always in flux. And this rapid rate of change poses challenges to companies ranging from nimble startups aiming to make their mark to established organizations fighting to remain relevant. This is particularly true in the competitive digital display market, where an Oregon company has been at the forefront of nearly every major breakthrough in the last three decades.

Press Releases

Robert S. Wiggins has joined Lane Powell as a Shareholder in the Corporate/M&A Practice Group. Wiggins is a well-known lawyer, entrepreneur, and investor with more than 30 years of experience leading and advising established and emerging companies in the Pacific Northwest. Wiggins will focus his practice on offering outside general counsel services, including general corporate and board representation, business transactions and capital events.